A/N: I was walking home in the pretty little rain when… bang. A sudden idea came to me that changed the whole, entire story. In fact, I'm testing out a whole new genre… supernatural. The entire plot is anew. Read the story's summary. Now it's focused on Dia's past and present and future and stuff. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this should be one of the best stories I'll manage to pull out. Not as much Gray stuff, but trust me, you'll be seeing more of him later.

Thank you HarvestMoonGlows, MyShadowsThorn, and The Scarlet Sky for reviewing. 

Disclaimer/Warning: I don't own Harvest Moon. No language, but a touchy scene.

A Threnody of Sorrow

Heavy breathing, deep sweating. Central trembling, eyes clamped shut. Knuckles whitening with intense grip.

Dia awoke, her head pounding and her heart synchronic. She put her hand to her chest in attempt to slow down its rapid rising and falling, staring down at her lap in the queen-sized bed she lay in.

Nightmare. No big deal.

But not a good way to start the day.

She climbed out of bed, but something deep inside of her clicked. Everything looked and felt so… unfamiliar. Wrong, in a way. She turned and immediately caught sight of herself in a full-length mirror, only recognizing it was her in the reflection after a few shock-filled moments.

Of course I feel wrong. I just left my home, and Gina, and Bob—

No, Bob was nothing! He was a useless commoner! He was a distraction. That's all!!

She blinked, not knowing where the sudden upheaval of anger had come from. It rushed away as quickly as it flooded in, and in the next instant there was a silence.

The sanatorium at Flower Bud had been fair sized— not too big, not too small. She was almost always in the company of either Martha, Gina, or Alex. Living in such a titanic house, fit almost for royalty if it had been better furnished and ridden of cobwebs and dust, she almost expected herself to feel nostalgic, or even a bit scared.

No, for some reason, it felt… right to her. She hadn't gotten a homey feeling. It was more of a tight feeling in her chest. She felt…

Betrayed?

A sweet whistle came from the window to her left and she walked over to it. A chickadee immediately fluttered into sight and she stepped back in shock. Yet… why was she shocked? She'd seen a bird before. From the window back at the sanatorium. It was nothing new.

It chirped again and Dia felt perplexed at how such fear had elicited from the sight of the small, pleasant creature.

The chickadee cocked its round head to the side, giving her a sideways look. Suddenly unnerved again, she stepped away from the window, a bit nauseous.

…Wait, nauseous? Where did that come from?

She quickly groomed and prepared herself. Back in Flower Bud Village, summer had ended and fall was beginning to loom. Here in Mineral Town, though, it was the start of spring, the season of joy and restarting. She could already see the changes— winter's bitter snow had been quickly melting against the beaming rays of the sun. Even from where she stood inside, a warm air nipped at her skin. She breathed in the appeasing sunlit air, but a muffled knock from downstairs caused her head to turn.

Quickly orienting herself and giving her hair its finishing touch (though she'd never been a "girly" girl before— meaning all she usually did was brush it to begin with) and arrived at the door.

Inexplicably angry again, she wrenched open he door. "Who is it?" she demanded, with more of an accent than she remembered having.

A man, bushy-bearded and beady-eyed with a muscular build, blinked back at her. "Uhm, I was requested to be here," he said gruffly. "Miss… Elvira, I think. Told me to fix things up. Make everythin' look nice."

Dia stared for a second, not because she was surprised, but… disgusted. The man's pits were puddled with perspiration despite the cool morning chill, and his hair was greasy and oily. He was also very poorly shaven…

"Miss? 'Scuse me?"

She hesitated, unsure of whether or not she should allow such an unhygienic man enter her house. Finally she decided the commoner wasn't worth the fuss and allowed him entrance, albeit still reluctantly.

Dia stepped outside, however blinking back to reality once more. Um, did I just call him a commoner…? She glanced behind her shoulder, as if looking for strings leading out of her joints and controlling her thoughts and movements. Then she shook her head, confused and then… annoyed.

"Yes, what a filthy commoner," she hissed to herself, without completely realizing it.

She gripped at the long green dress she'd picked out of her luggage and swept down the mountain trail, bitter and contemptuous the whole way down.

xoxo

On the way, Dia bumped into a rather excited looking pink-haired girl. She appeared awash with joy, bounding up and down childishly when Dia arrived at the edge of town where she stood.

"…Yes?" was the most polite answer she found when she searched her brain for words.

The girl was smiling now, like she'd just been handed a spectacular gift. For some reason, this made Dia felt estranged. Like she was used to a different kind of approach when people saw her, or vice-versa…

"Hi, hi, they told me about you," the girl chattered happily. "In fact, it's only been recent, but the entire town's been abuzz with excitement. Especially me— we haven't had a new person come in like, ever! Plus there's an abandoned farmhouse— long story— though no one's actually bought it, yet." She blinked for a moment, as if forgetting what she was about to say. But when it came only a wink of time later, another overly huge grin came to her. "I'm Popuri. I live at the Poultry Farm with my mom, dad and brother. Who're you?"

Again, Dia was bemused. The girl was looking at her with expectant, round eyes. She felt more accustomed to a more formal greeting all of a sudden. In fact, this girl smelled like… bird…

"Dia. Pleased to make your acquaintance," she forced herself to say. She smiled fakely, though by the look on Popuri's face she could tell it was convincing. It felt like she'd done this so many times before.

"Formal now, aren't you?"

The toy smile was slapped off her face and replaced with an offended frown. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, oh no." Popuri waved her hands in innocence. "Don't take that the wrong way. Sorry, I tend to be a little, um, jumpy when it comes to meeting people. I haven't done that in a long time." Her eyes wandered a little, realizing they'd been standing at the edge of the sidewalk. "You've been to town already, right?"

"Rose Square, yes," she answered, unusually ladylike. Then the old Dia suddenly burst into bloom and she felt shy. "Um…"

The pink-hared girl didn't show any shock over her sudden change of mood. "Then come on, I'll go and show you around," she chirped, holding out her hand. When she noticed Dia staring at it, she added feebly, "Sorry, is this a rude thing to do in your hometown?"

"Oh… oh no." Timidly, she held out her palm. "I'm um, just a bit…"

"Nervous?" Her facial expression was understanding and sympathetic. "Don't worry, I can be nervous sometimes too. Everyone is, a little."

Warmth delved into Dia's extended palm as Popuri closed her hand on it. She took off, skipping, not walking.

"Um…"

She looked back, realizing Dia was tripping clumsily and uncomfortably at her heels. "Sorry!" she cried, slowing down at once. "Just this thing I do when I'm excited, I… so sorry!"

For the first time since she'd stepped foot in Mineral Town, Dia smiled— a crooked, birthing smile, but a smile regardless. "It's okay. Where to?"

"My home, you silly Dia. Speaking of which, I like your name. It's really unusual." She giggled. "There I go again…"

Her eyelashes willowed as she looked down, hiding a blush of glee. Maybe things won't be so bad, she considered. Maybe not.

They closed in on a tall, rectangular building. There was a larger-looking one behind it, and a low-fenced pent and garden beside it.

"That's the chicken coop," Popuri was saying. "Occasionally we let them out for a bit of sunshine around midday, when the weather's nice." She opened the door to her home. "Why don't you come in and meet my parents first?"

"And your brother?"

At this, Popuri looked suddenly dark. "I… don't think that's the best idea right now," was her simple, faceless reply.

A discreet shattering sound blasted through the air, the girls suddenly alert. Popuri rushed up the stairs wordlessly and frantically and, on her reflex-reaction, Dia followed at her heels.

xoxo

Dia's eyes were wide with shock as she appeared through the doorway after Popuri, who'd burst into the only room above the ground floor. She was panting hard and she was pale.

Dia wanted to say something, to ask what was going on, but she was too uncomfortable. Though she'd only known Popuri for not even one whole hour, she could tell her weak point had been pressed and was slowly splintering. Looking up, a flash of silver caught her eye, and then a head of light brown hair.

She saw Popuri's breath catch and tried to stay as still and silent as she possibly could. She took a mute step back and pressed against the wall, as if making way for Popuri in case she decided to suddenly turn and run.

But all the girl did was step forward. Dia couldn't see her expression because the back of her head was to her and she considered stepping away, knowing she was out of place.

"Rick," Popuri whispered, through a crackling voice. "What did… you do?"

Dia looked automatically, taken aback when she saw a long, glass vase splayed out in broken shards. Confused on why Popuri was so worked up about it, she figured it was just a mere accident that caused the boy, which she presumed was her brother, to knock it off a shelf. Just a flower vase. Big deal.

Right?

Rick didn't respond. Popuri was stricken as she stepped up and suddenly started screaming, causing Dia's ears to burn. "WHY'D YOU DO IT?" she hollered, alit in an inner fire Dia was startled to see.

Rick stared blankly at not her, but the wall. The glistening object was sliding up his sleeve now as he was oblivious to his sister's screams.

Dia paused, breath held, wondering whether or not she should point out the concealed item to Popuri. You have no part in this, she thought. You shouldn't even be watching.

But it was already too late, because Popuri had shut up midsentence. She stared at her brother, paling considerably. "Rick, what are you doing," she said, more like a plea than a demand. She took another few steps forward.

Dia felt paralyzed when Rick whirled around and struck his sister, causing her to fall back— onto the shards.

…No. She had fallen just beside the shards. She felt her breathing intervals balance, but only slightly so.

Popuri stared at him from her position on the floor. "You promised you'd stop," she whispered, as if oblivious to the fact he'd just hit her. "Please don't."

Stop what? What is he stopping?

"He's gone," was Rick's only answer. The object slid from inside his sleeve and fell before Popuri on the ground with a clatter.

…A knife.

"…Show me," Popuri said quietly. Then she charged at him, her grip demonically tight around his elbow joint. "SHOW ME YOUR WRISTS!"

Surprisingly, he didn't struggle or shout back. He merely rolled up his sleeve…

…and revealed the red slashes gridded against his skin.

Popuri pulled back, crying now. "Why…"

Dia stared, breathless, and found herself stepping back again. Instead of feeling a solid wood wall preventing her from further backing, she felt a cold abyss. It swallowed her, the blackness magnifying inwardly until the only light she could see was the flickering glisten of the knife beyond them.

xoxo

"That's the chicken coop," Popuri was saying. "Occasionally we let them out for a bit of sunshine around midday, when the weather's nice." She opened the door to her home. "Why don't you come in and meet my parents first?"

Dia's chest heaved, feeling a pain strike her head at the sound of Popuri's now-cheerful voice...

What, what?

She eyed her surroundings, scared. They were still downstairs. No… they were outside. They hadn't even gone into the house yet…

"Is something the matter?" Popuri asked, looking worried as Dia looked up into her eyes.

"Fine. I'm fine."

Something was wrong. Either she'd been daydreaming or… no, no, no. Everything was much too clear for that. She could genuinely feel the chills churning through her skin, and the wall against her heels… she was upstairs… it was no dream…

"Dia?"

She blinked, her vision rectifying as she saw Popuri standing in the doorway.

"You coming?"

"Of course," she murmured hastily.

She hurried by, pretending not to notice as Popuri stared at her with wide, clueless eyes.

xoxo

After-read spoilers: Wait, wait, did Popuri say PARENTS? …